The invention relates to automobile racing and, more particularly, to a device for mounting a tire.
During automobile racing, the tires of a racing car are continuously checked for variations in dimensions due to changes in temperature, pressure, the condition of the race track, or other conditions. To perform these inspections or to repair the surface of the tire, the tire needs to be supported for a person to easily access the surface of the tire.
Some automobile racing crews manually check the circumference of the tires by wrapping a tape measure around the tire. Due to various conditions of a race track, debris is removed from the tire by hand using a scraper tool, and the surface of the tire is roughed up by hand using a wire brush or grinder.
There are several kinds of devices for mounting objects. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,036 to Church. The tire inspection apparatus includes a base, rotatable rollers, and a tire support structure. However, the tire support structure may only be used to rotate a tire resting upright on the support structure, and the tire is not fastened to the rotatable member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,355 to Doi and U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,219 to Popio disclose mounting devices for tires having pivots for altering the angular position of a rotational member. However, due to the design of the mounting devices, the pivotal movement is limited to slight arching. The Doi device is constrained by the vertical movement of the drum, enabling the tire to only be raised or lowered, and the Popio device is limited by the load mechanisms which are attached to the device and is designed to impart a camber or slight arch to the tire.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus for mounting a tire which is transportable, rotatable and includes a pivot for positioning the tire either horizontally or vertically for providing an accurate and convenient means for measuring and/or preparing the tire.